FIFA Friendly International: England vs. Republic of Ireland Preview, Odds, Prediction

England and the Republic of Ireland highlight Thursday’s friendly international matches, with the two fierce rivals clashing before crucial UEFA Nations League matches. English side needs to beat Iceland and avoid relegation from the UNL top tier, while on the other side, Ireland is also in a bad position in the B league, with the same problems. Apart from that, the great rivalry between these two nations will make this match interesting, and to tell you right away, even though we won’t see top lineups taking the pitch, that won’t decrease the intensity of this matchup. Pride is at stake here; no need to tell you more.

Preview

Surprisingly, England (-300) lost its previous event, with Denmark beating the Albion at Wembley with 0-1. Even though Gareth Southgate had four of his best forwards on the pitch simultaneously (Kane, Rashford, Sancho, and Calvert-Lewin) the hosts couldn’t breach Denmark’s back line.

It was their first defeat following seven matches, during which they won six times and posted just one draw. Only once did they allow a goal during that streak, in a win over Belgium, the top-ranked team in the FIFA standings, 2-1.

Southgate’s side is coming into this event with numerous problems, where he needs to find a compromise between results and players’ physical shape. Many EPL teams are pressuring him to keep their players safe and rested for the upcoming club challenges, while the fans want to see good results.

Ireland (+900) is in terrible shape with 6 consecutive games without a win. They recorded three draws and losses each, with all those contests ending with under 2.5 scores.

A very disappointing fact for all of Ireland’s fans was the fact that they couldn’t score a single goal in the past four matches. They are a team without creativity, and without a goalscorer up front able to create something individual. That is why the majority of their goals come following some set-piece or some chaotic situation.

Overall, Ireland has just two wins in the previous 15 games on the road, against Gibraltar and Wales, and they would often end contests without a goal.

Latest News

England lost Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold. According to all the credible sources, Marcus Rashfor won’t play, and the majority of the regular players from the starting lineup would skip Thursday’s event.

The same applies to the Irish team, who will keep its key players healthy for future UNL games.

Head to Head Games

Believe it or not, the previous five games between these two sides saw a draw, and seven of the last ten ended in the same way. The most recent match in 2015, also a friendly international, was without goals.

Prediction

England’s victory is not questionable at all. They are much better than the guests who don’t have the quality to compete with much weaker sides, which is why we suggest betting on Albion’s win here. The odds are not high at all, but the risk is pretty low.